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2111 <br />C/lief XthL �1. T'iirh/ieiiy <br />October 24, 2014 <br />Board of County Commissioners <br />Indian River County, Florida <br />1801 27th Street <br />Vero Beach, FL 32960-3388 <br />Dear Commissioners, <br />25 outh Cyprraz triz¢t • fasmgr¢, f1 32948-6714 <br />phonR: 0'2.571.1360 • T'ax: 0'2.646.6359 <br />e-mail:poliegehisancityof fQl l6mQrg.org <br />As you may know, over the last 30 years, jails and prisons have become the primary repository for people <br />struggling with mental illness. With available community resources dwindling for people with serious <br />mental illness (SMI), the courts see more repeat offenders with untreated mental illness. Our own county <br />jail is a perfect example as more than half of the inmates being held there are diagnosed with a mental <br />illness. It is an expensive system of care that often fails to effectively address the true problem. <br />It is clear to many practitioners in both the criminal justice and mental health professions that Florida's <br />jails and prisons are not designed, equipped, or funded to deal with SMI. It is therefore believed that the <br />use of a problem -solving "court model" is a logical response. <br />In response, the Diversion Strategies Task Group, a dedicated group of professionals consisting of Police <br />Chiefs, State Attorneys, Public Defenders and Judges, have explored ways to divert when necessary, the <br />mentally ill within the criminal justice system in order to receive mental health services in the community. <br />Mental health courts generally share the following goals: to improve public safety by reducing criminal <br />recidivism; to improve the quality of life of people with SMI's and increase their participation in effective <br />treatment; and to reduce court- and corrections -related costs through administrative efficiencies and often <br />by providing an alternative to incarceration. <br />Monitoring and treating offenders with SMI in a mental health court is more effective, efficient, and less <br />expensive than the remedies available through traditional justice system approaches. Like drug courts, <br />mental health courts hold offenders accountable while linking them to the treatment services they need to <br />address their mental illness. <br />7nte8rity first <br />17 <br />